Compression is a tool which compresses (reduces) the dynamic range of a signal. It developed as a tool in studios but quickly found its way onto our pedal boards. Unfortunately, amongst guitarists, the compressor has a reputation for having limited uses – usually used as a sustainer or to get a ‘country’ squashed attack. By [...]
We’ve seen how CAGED is essentially a fretboard map. By simplifying the neck down into easy to grasp pieces we make the neck easier to navigate. But simply understanding the system won’t improve our playing, we need to find ways of applying the fretboard map. This post looks at CAGED as it applies to scale [...]
Once the tone has been fully processed with compression, distortion and any pre-distortion effects (such as a phaser) the last main link in the chain is the final EQ and tone shaping (though time-based effects are still to come).The final EQ shaping is reliant on the speaker response, the speaker configuration, and whether the speaker [...]
In CAGED Part 1, we saw how the CAGED system can be used to help beginner-intermediate players to visualise the chords shapes across the fretboard. Today we’ll apply the same idea to scale shapes.
There are many ways of using EQ to enhance tone. Pickups all have their own EQ curves, and amplifiers have distinct mid-scoops which affect the final tone, and also there is the response curve of the speaker which rolls off the upper frequencies. This post finishes our look at distortion and introduces EQ by focusing [...]
In the previous articles we’ve looked at the main ingredients of a lead guitar tone, which were; distortion, frequency curves, and dynamics. Today we are going to look more closely at distortion and how we can manipulate it to gives us control and flexibility of tone.
The CAGED system is a convenient way of thinking about chord and scale shapes. It makes it easy to link positions together and create larger scale patterns and alternative chord voicings.
This post looks at the balancing act of getting a good tone.
This is the first in a series of posts which examine, in detail, the basis of lead guitar tone. This introduction covers the basics of frequency response, distortion and dynamics.
In this post we learn about the musical alphabet and the sharps and flats. This post focuses around the notes on a piano, because it is easiest to visualise what’s being discussed – but you don’t need to understand the piano to make sense of this post. Once you have a basic understanding of the [...]
